Two recipes: Wild Damson Gin and Sloe Gin recipes

Unlike sloes, wild damsons are hard to find. For every thirty wild plum trees there may be just one wild damson tree. When I spot wild damsons in the hedgerows, they are harvested into a special bag.

These, and the diminutive bullace, are the kings of hedgerow fruit. These tiny fruit make such an irresistible liqueur that overnight guests have actually turned down Danny’s famous cooked breakfast, and gone back to bed to sleep off the excesses of the night before.

Our damson and sloe gin is not the thick ultra sweet variety. We prefer the sugar to enhance rather than shield the flavour. Every three months or so it’s sampled and, if necessary, topped up with sugar. Usually no extra sugar is needed.

We try to keep our damson and sloe gin well away from the drinks tray! Each year we make a lot of fruit gin and vodka (more recipes to follow, in time). Sloe gin is the big craze at the moment around here, as sloes are more plentiful.

Make more than you need the first year, so you can compare different vintages. This liqueur does improve over time.

Some people drain the grog through muslin after a couple of months, to clarify the liqueur and bottle. We don’t bother as one old soak tipped that, once the gin is drunk, you can pour medium sherry on the fruit and start all over again! The latter is devilish and drinkable within three months. We have a recipe for this in our wine and gin section.

Keep your fruit gin away from the light as this will maintain the colour. Unless it is in a dark green or brown bottle. Wrapping it in brown parcel paper will keep out the light.

Make notes on a label of your fruit gin/vodka /sugar ratio and stick it onto the bottle(s) so that you have a record, if you make a particularly good batch. We note our responses as the grog matures. Yucky after sixth months can be to die for in a year (you will probably not remember without notes). Notes seem boring when you are making the grog but they are so worthwhile when you start again the next year. It won’t be long before you will get a feel of what works well for your taste (and the notes will come into their own).

Adding almond essence to sloe gin lifts it from good to great. I haven’t tried this with the damson gin but return in a years’ time for our review.

Don’t kill the liqueur with too much sugar at the start. Use the amount above to start your sloe or damson gin and then every couple of months take a tiny sip. At this time add more sugar if it is too sharp for your taste.

Gin v Vodka? Vodka can be used as the spirit for these recipes. Although I’m a vodka drinker, we tend to stick to a gin base for our fruit liqueurs.

A good damson gin can be made from ordinary damsons available in the shops. As they are bigger you would need to put them into a larger Le Parfait jar (I’d use a 2 litre size).

People have been picking sloes from September 1st around here. Some people say that you shouldn’t pick sloes until after the first frost. This can be circumvented by putting your sloes in the freezer overnight. We don’t bother with either method and always have great results.

This year we have made up a number of small (1lb honey jars) of sloe gin to give as Christmas presents.

Wash damsons well and discard any bad or bruised fruit. Prick fruit several times with a fork and place damsons in either a large

Kilner/Le Parfait jar or a wide necked 1 litre bottle.

Using a funnel, add the sugar and top up with gin to the rim.

Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for a year). If you are planning to drink this after 3 months, have a nip afetr a month, and top up with sugar to taste.

Some people strain the grog (through muslin/jelly bag) after 3 months and bottle it, leaving it mature for six months. We strain and bottle after a year. Don’t leave the straining process any longer than a year; leaving the fruit in too long can spoil the liqueur, as we found to our cost one year.

Sloe gin:

Wash sloes well and discard any bruised or rotten fruit. Prick fruit several times with a fork and place sloes in either a large Kilner/Le Parfait jar or a wide necked 1 litre bottle. I put several sloes in my palm to prick them rather than picking them up one by one.

Using a funnel, add the sugar and top up with gin to the rim. Always open sugar bags over the sink as sugar tends to get caught in the folds at the top of the bag.

Add the almond essence.

Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for a year).

Some people strain the grog (through muslin/jelly bag) after 3 months and bottle it, leaving it mature for six months. We strain and bottle after a year.

I live in Southport and a tree grew some years ago which i was told are Damsons they are small purple hard and sour,but also a lot have chav and a small worm in.Using the ones that do not i have washed cut and filled a tall jar mixed in 50% sugar of net fruit weight then filled with gin.Result Dec 2016 nice but i found the fruit even better on cereal,mince pies etc,careful with the stones
Only problem now have five 20 foot trees in small area and lots of saplings coming up

I’ve picked my first sloes yesterday 10th August . I’ve been visiting the bushes fairly regularly since July. This year in Cambs they have ripened early again. Last year I left it too late. Convinced that it was too early, despite colour and a certain give in the berries, I hung on for deeper ripeness. Too my cost, some bludger nicked them all over one weekend. It was as though a giant harvester had swept in and swallowed every sloe in the vicinity. I say if you think they’re ripe enough, pick them before somebody else does! They are happily washed, weighed and nestling in the freezer until I have bumped up the gin supply. Good hunting my friends.

Hi all, I live in Suffolk and this year there are virtually no sloes to be seen. I wondered if anyone had reused the sloes from last years gin to make a second batch? Would it work? Christmas without sloe gin is just not right!
Thanks for any help,

I make sloe gin and damson vodka/gin every year… I don’t add sugar at all until I’m ready to bottle… I leave the fruit for about 6 months and then strain. I use sugar syrup and add carefully, to taste so that I get the exact sweetness that I want. After bottling it will keep for as long as you want… I make jam with the used fruit.

Yes. In Romania they use all kinds of soft fruit… Strawberries/ raspberries/ apricots/peaches/plums/blackberries/black currents… 1lb of fruit to 1 bottle vodka or gin, leave for 6 months, strain and add sugar syrup to taste, then bottle… I forget what the Romanian is but it translates as ‘ladies drink’ regardless of the fruit.. Traditionally used as a warming drink for winter evenings…xx

You have done the hard bit! You can push through a sieve, add sugar or honey to taste and swirl into yoghurt, but I usually make jam. There are literally hundreds of recipes for this on the internet. Good luck!

If looking for wild damsons, they are usually planted as wind breaks in the country in hedgerows.
Sloes or Blackthorns are more hedgerow plants originally planted as cattle proof hedges due to their sharp thorns.They have beautiful white blossom in Spring.
Occasionally greengage or yellowgage plum trees are also used as wind breaks in hedgerows.

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